Senator in spotlight after water break during speech

Experts say Rubio looked nervous

Florida Senator Marco Rubio's big moment in the spotlight has been somewhat overshadowed by a water break that's gone viral.

His reach for a drink of water while delivering the Republican response to the president's State of the Union address has been generating a lot of talk.

Even before the water break went viral, Rubio appeared uncomfortable during his speech.

Several times he is seen scratching his head and lapping his tongue across his lips and gums.

"I thought he did look nervous," said Rollins College professor Rick Foglesong.

Foglesong called it understandable given the national stage, but said voters won't take Rubio seriously as a future presidential candidate if he takes more water breaks.

"If there are more moments like this where he looks like a deer in the headlights, then I think it will stick," said Fogelsong. "If there are not, then it won't."

"I think he can look forward to some 'Saturday Night Live' sketches," said Lew Oliver, Orange County Republican Party Chairman.

Oliver doesn't see much need for damage control.

"If he understands that he goofed and makes fun of himself, it's a net positive probably at the end of the day," said Oliver. "If on the other hand he gets all defensive about it and denies it and tries to offer excuses like I had a cold or whatever the case may be, that's not going to work."

The senator's reach for a sip of water set Twitter ablaze with some calling him unprepared for the spotlight.

After his speech, Rubio sent a tweet with a photo of that bottle of water.

Twitter statistics show that Rubio's drink of water was the most tweeted moment of his speech.

Rubio simply said, "God has a funny way of reminding us we're human."

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